CBRE Expands SE Reach With BlackRock Retail Buy

MIAMI-In a move that will expand the company’s retail service offerings in the Southeast, CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. has acquired locally based BlackRock Retail Property Advisors Inc.

Founded in 1996 by Dennis Carson and Casey Rosen, BlackRock specializes in investment sales and debt/equity financing with an exclusive focus on retail properties in the Southeast. The company, which has no affiliation with New York City-based BlackRock Inc., has six employees who will join CBRE’s Miami office. The employees will cover Florida and the rest of the Southeast, and work with CBRE capital market professionals in Atlanta, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville.

CB Richard Ellis senior managing director Theodore Carter, who oversees the South Florida region, tells GlobeSt.com that CBRE targeted BlackRock because it is a strong regional player with experience in the retail sector, which is an area of focus for the company. “Retail is one of our global focuses,” Carter says. “The acquisition will allow us to expand our offerings and will also assist us on the leasing side and the asset management side.”

Since the company’s inception, it has closed 125 transactions worth a total of $2 billion. The company is presently engaged in the sale of 21 retail properties valued at more than $400 million. Some of the past transactions BlackRock has completed include the $40-million sale of Pine City Center in Pembroke Pines and the $33-million sale of the Ramblewood Square Shopping Center in Coral Springs. It has sold 10 Orlando-area shopping centers, with an aggregate value of more than $217 million, in the past two years.

Carson says joining CBRE provides a platform whereby existing customers can be better served and new clients can be found nationally and internationally. “Our primary focus will be Florida, but we’ll work outside of Florida and throughout the Southeast with CBRE partners in other areas,” he says.